Iron Man 3: Robert Downey Jr. Says Kingsley Will ‘Steal the Movie’

Speculation regarding whether or not Iron Man’s arch-nemesis The Mandarin would appear in this summer’s Iron Man 3 was running rampant long before the first trailer was finally released. However, now that we know that Sir Ben Kingsley is going head-to-head with Tony Stark in writer/director Shane Black’s film, the real question is: Does the character deliver?

Now, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly (via Comic Book Movie), star Robert Downey Jr. continues to single out Kingsley’s performance as one of the film’s greatest strengths. Here’s what he had to say:

“Sir Ben is probably going to steal the movie. There are a lot of contenders who may, but right now he’s probably at the top of that list. He came in as, obviously – speaking of training – as such a technically proficient instrument. And then what proceeded to happen was the release of more vintage, old-school Favreau [improv] stuff with a Shane Black twist on it. It was kind of frightening to witness, I’ll tell you that much.”

Much has been said about how chilling the Mandarin will be in the finished film, and casting such an acclaimed performer as the Oscar-winning Kingsley was clearly a smart move for Marvel. Downey’s comments indicate that Kingsley’s performance as the Mandarin could be more in line with Tom Hiddleston’s Loki than previous Iron Man foes, as some fans have hoped.

Furthermore, Downey’s comments regarding the fusion of Favreau’s and Black’s filmmaking styles is in keeping with what we’ve expected, given Favreau continued role as co-star and producer of Iron Man 3. The Mandarin’s appearance had, of course, been previously hinted at in the first Iron Man film. So it’s only fitting that the director who ushered in the franchise should see this storyline through to conclusion.

Iron Man 3 releases May 3rd, 2013, Thor: The Dark World on November 8th, 2013, Captain America: The Winter Soldier on April 4th, 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy on August 1st, 2014, The Avengers 2 on May 1st, 2015, Ant-Man on November 6th, 2015, and Doctor Strange sometime after that.

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Chris Fawkes 2 years ago

When i saw the trailer it seemed like it was just another iron man versus iron man movie. Is that not right?

Really can’t wait, Kingsley is great in pretty much anything he stars in.

Must say a lot about British theatre when some of the best and most commanding actors of all time started out there (talking about Sir Ben Kingsley, Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Michael Caine).

Until I actually see the movie and witness the marvel (heh) of Sir Ben Kingsley’s acting personally, I’ll just pass these comments about his acting away and consider them as just another marketing strategy (obviously).

I like Ben Kingsley but I’m still getting the sense that his so-called great performance is being overhyped. Nothing in the trailers or anything we’ve seen so far actually tells me he’s gonna kill it. And I still don’t get his weird accent!

Why not? Seriously? Heath Leadger as The Joker is not the pinnacle of acting. Sir Ben Kingsly has also won awards, an Oscar included. There is no reason with this part and this actor in IM3 that the performance can’t be as good or better. I’m not saying it will be, but there is no good reason it can’t. I personally, am most excited about Sir Ben’s performance when it comes to IM3.

I just saw the latest Iron Man Trailer (day after the Super Bowl. The wickedness of the Mandarin’s involvement with the airplane strike was a shocking as Bane’s kidnapping and plane distruction in Dark Knight Rises.

I may be a fool, but that CGI of the freefall and the whole bit about Iron Man saving only 4 of the 13 passengers got me interested in the film. A side note (or an around-about note) about the Mandarin’s accent…

Cowardice (in the form of political correctness) reigns here. The villian’s ethnicity is shrouded. But both the name “Mandarin,” and the comic book character point to a Chinese antagonist. Acknowledging this doesn’t mean that the old Marvel Comics considered all Chinese to be bad people, just this ONE evil genius. Too bad the only courageous people at Marvel are their factious characters.